Chapter 376: The Church's Armed Forces Begin to Starve, and Military Rations Are More Effective
Two days later…
After two days of marching, the church's armed forces had already begun to kill their mounts for meat. The once majestic wolf had now become food for the soldiers to fill their stomachs, and the air was filled with the smell of blood and despair. Fortunately, they did not find any pursuers, and they also followed the map to find the "church armed forces" in the mountains.
As mentioned above, these people are a group of Christian escaped slaves who hid in the mountains, multiplied and formed villages and residential areas, and the church sent people to help them. This hidden place seems to be a corner forgotten by the world, but it has been able to survive under the protection of the church.
Therefore, this group of people has been supplying talents as well as economic materials such as food, minerals, or medicinal materials to the church for generations. Some of them are able to sneak into the city through municipal insiders and obtain legal status.
They secretly provided continuous support for the development of the church and became an indispensable part of the church.
The 100,000-man army came here to find the "Christian Armed Forces" to solve some of the food problems, which was also their hope to get out. The soldiers dragged their heavy steps, their eyes full of desire for food.
The white-robed priest was sitting under a tree studying a map, thinking about getting out of the mountains to recuperate and then coming back to ask the headquarters for more cardinals and prophetic priests to break the deadlock. His brows were furrowed, his expression was solemn, and he kept deducing various possible strategies in his mind.
The defeat in this battle almost wiped out the entire army, which made the White Robe Priest feel extremely humiliated. The death of several generals here was an irreparable loss.
The generals who once fought side by side with him have now turned into cold corpses, becoming an eternal pain in his heart.
At this moment, two hunters came to report: "Reporting to the Secretary and Reverend of the Church, when we went there, the armed forces of the church members had already been destroyed. Wherever we went, the houses were reduced to scorched earth, the farmland was reduced to ashes, and the people were all eaten by wild beasts. It was a horrible sight..." Their voices trembled with deep fear.
"What? They have been safe for so many years, how could this happen? They are very secretive and it is impossible for them to offend anyone..." The white-robed priest was shocked, his eyes widened, unable to believe this sudden bad news.
He was originally planning to collect food, but suddenly heard the bad news. He suddenly felt short of breath and was filled with anger and helplessness.
This place was exactly the result of a field exercise two months ago by Jean Tocque and his scouts. They had wiped out all the people here in advance and even destroyed the farmland. Jean Tocque's actions were decisive and resolute, leaving no chance for the enemy to breathe.
Where can the army collect food now? The situation is precarious...
The white-robed priest said, "Forget it. Let's find a way to get out of the mountains. Let the soldiers gather some plants and fruits. No, tender leaves are edible. Let's work harder and get out of the mountains..." His voice was filled with fatigue and helplessness.
In fact, some troops had been collecting food. Most people would not starve in the mountains, but with more than 100,000 people, it was impossible to gather enough food. The search all over the mountains was just a drop in the bucket.
After more than two days in the mountains, life became increasingly difficult. The 100,000-man army was in an unprecedented predicament in the mountains,…
~~~
At this time, Rantok stood under a big tree, staring at the gnawed bones on the ground. After careful observation, he concluded that it must be from his mount. The bones were scattered in all directions, and they were particularly eye-catching under the mottled light and shadow.
This was left behind by the church militia last night. They brought an iron pot to cook it, which saved a lot of food, and the meat on the bones was handled very cleanly.
From these traces, it can be seen that the enemy, driven by hunger, has no longer cared about many things and is trying its best to obtain every bit of energy.
"Haha, our enemies are starting to eat our mounts, almost there, well, we won't leave today, let's rest early and let them hurry on their way! Hahahaha." Jean Tok smiled widely, gesticulating with exaggerated gestures, his laughter echoing in the woods, revealing his immense pride.
"That's right, they have cleaned the ground here, everything is ready, let's set up a tent and sleep first," the scouts echoed. Their faces were also filled with a relaxed expression.
Several senior hunters from the Mercenary Association said, "It feels like a lot of leaves have been picked here, haha! These charlatans are not cut out for fighting. An army of 100,000 is so miserable. At that time, they would rather die in Sheldon Castle than take a step back. Now they have to suffer this before they die, and travel a long distance..." Their words were full of ridicule towards the enemy.
Another senior hunter asked, "Dear Jean! Tell the truth, can the castle withstand a full-scale attack by a hundred thousand troops?" His eyes were filled with doubt and curiosity.
Jean Tocque was in a good mood today, and said with a smile: "This matter is top secret, of course you can't ask, and I can't tell you either. I'll just say one thing, a hundred thousand troops will never be able to break into the castle, and it's true that the church armed forces should not mess with Sheldon Castle..." His tone was firm and confident, as if the castle was an insurmountable fortress.
"It seems that your master's huge investment in renovating the castle was well worth it. This magic circle is amazing." Everyone nodded, full of admiration for the castle's powerful defensive capabilities.
While chatting, the warriors unloaded the luggage from the wolf, took out the single tent and started to set up camp. They were skilled and had a clear division of labor, as if this was already a common thing.
The scouts quickly dispersed their guard, forming dozens of secret sentries. They hid in the woods, vigilantly watching the movements around them.
After the tents were set up, the soldiers took out the rations wrapped in lotus leaves and banana leaves and started eating them directly. The amount was large, filling and delicious. The lotus leaves and banana leaves exuded a light fragrance, adding a unique flavor to the rations.
Lotus leaves and banana leaves are very suitable for packaging food after processing. Each package weighs about two kilograms, with salted beef, spicy chicken with vegetables and fruits, and about one kilogram of sour bread. These foods are rich and varied, providing sufficient energy for the soldiers.
The water made from boiled medicine can cool them down, relieve heat and prevent diseases, and is delivered to them by the logistics troops.
Therefore, Tan Aili's military food industry layout came in handy at this moment. Even the lotus leaves that had been sheathed had become similar to leather, and the soldiers would eat them, and they tasted good.
This not only demonstrates the strength of logistical support, but also reflects the perfection of the entire military system.
The military ration workshop has always been committed to continuous innovation and has achieved many remarkable innovative achievements. Its original intention was to make military rations easier to preserve for a long time and to make it more convenient for soldiers to eat on the battlefield.
After all, only when the soldiers fill their stomachs can they have sufficient physical strength and energy to fight bravely.
The visionary Tan Aili keenly realized that the country might be plunged into a long period of war in the future.
Therefore, she made up her mind to get a share of the military food market and decisively sent a professional team to engage in the research and development of simple foods. After unremitting efforts, they finally succeeded in developing a new type of simple food.
Not only does this food taste delicious, but it also has a shelf life of about three months! This is undoubtedly a huge breakthrough.
In order to achieve such an excellent preservation effect, the researchers adopted a unique pickling process, coupled with carefully formulated medicinal flavoring, making this simple food perfect in both taste and quality.
I believe that once it is put on the market, it will be warmly welcomed by the majority of soldiers.